World
Imminent attack from Iran keeps Israel on alert as US admits 'credible' threat from terror state
The U.S. continues to closely monitor what it deems to be “credible” threats of an Iranian attack on Israel in response to a strike on Iran’s Damascus consulate, even as reports indicate that Iran is looking to deploy a non-escalatory response.
“I would just say that we’re watching this very, very closely,” U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters on Friday. “We still deemed the potential threat by Iran here to be real, to be viable, certainly credible, and we’re watching it as closely as we can.”
“Right now, our focus is on having a conversation with our Israeli counterparts and making sure not just conversations, but making sure that they have what they need and that they’re able to defend themselves,” Kirby added. “We’re also clear it would be imprudent if we didn’t take a look at our own posture in the region to make sure that we’re properly prepared as well.”
Kirby assured that the U.S. remains in “constant communication” with Israeli counterparts to make sure they are ready for attack but refused to “armchair quarterback … in a public way in terms of the conversations we’re having or what we’re seeing in the intelligence picture.”
ISRAELI PM, MILITARY LEADERS HOLD EMERGENCY MEETING AMID POSSIBLE DIRECT IRANIAN ATTACK
Tehran has continued to threaten a response against Israel for the attack on an Iranian consulate in Damascus that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members, including two generals. Hezbollah leadership over the weekend at the annual Quds Day commemoration in Iran also touted their readiness and willingness to launch retaliation against Israel for the attack.
U.S. CENTCOM Gen. Michael Kurilla has been in Israel, where he met with the IDF Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen Hezi Halevi and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant to assess military preparedness, moving up his plans due to the threats from Iran, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed during a press conference Thursday. Ryder did not speculate as to any specific threats from Iran to Israel, even as Tehran continues to promise action.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Getty Images)
The State Department also issued new travel advisories for Israel on Thursday, restricting U.S. government employees and their families from traveling outside major cities. The department warns, “Terrorist groups, lone-actor terrorists and other violent extremists continue plotting possible attacks in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Terrorists and violent extremists may attack with little or no warning.”
Iran has signaled to Washington that it will respond to Israel’s attack on the Damascus consulate, but may do so in a way that aims to avoid major escalation and will not act hastily, Reuters reported Thursday.
US RESTRICTS STAFF IN ISRAEL FROM TRAVELING OUTSIDE CITIES AS IRAN ATTACK THREAT PERSISTS
Israel, as of Thursday night, had not issued any special instructions from its Home Front Command but stressed that Israelis would be immediately notified of any steps taken as the state remains “on a high state of alert and preparedness,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Gen. Michael Kurilla met with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant amid rising tensions with Tehran. (Ariel Hermoni/IMoD)
Gen. Jack Keane of the Institute for the Study of War (IFSW) during an appearance on Friday’s “Fox & Friends” said an attack will happen at some point because Iran “cannot avoid the international publicity surrounding the taking down of the IRGC headquarters in Syria,” saying it was “just a reality” but adding that Iran will likely pursue a “measured response” and does not really want escalation.
“I think they’re very much enjoying the psychological impact that this is having, not only on Israel but also on the world writ-large,” Gen. Jack Keane said. “I think we’re taking the precautions we should be taking, to protect our own people, and certainly Israel is doing that.”
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Gen. Michael Kurilla and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant review Israeli military capabilities as part of an ongoing effort to ensure operational cooperability. (Ariel Hermoni/IMoD)
“Iran has their finger on the trigger here,” “This much we know: Iran doesn’t want any escalation of this that would lead to a war with Israel or the United States, and that has been the fact from the beginning of the war in Gaza when they operationalized all of their proxies to join in that effort that Hamas started.”
HOUSE REPUBLICANS TURN UP HEAT ON BIDEN TO BROKER ‘EXPEDIENT RELEASE’ OF HAMAS HOSTAGES, SUPPORT ISRAEL
Keane suggested that the best way to handle Iran was to destroy its IRGC assets in Iran, because “Iran does not want to escalate,” claiming Iran has “a weak air force … a weak navy” and “not particularly well-trained or … well-equipped” troops – instead, he argued that Iran relies heavily on its drone and missile arsenal.
“Iran knows that war with them would destroy their regime economically, and they are likely to lose it,” Keane insisted. “The leverage has always been on the side of Israel, the United States and the West, but we absolutely refuse to use it.”
Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi holding a situational assessment and discussion with reserve commanders on the Lebanese border. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)
Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that Iran is better positioned to benefit from sitting back and letting tensions remain high while not actually launching any attack.
“Despite the regime thoroughly benefiting from the wall-to-wall coverage of its impending “retaliation” against Israel, the more the delay, the greater the expectation for a larger attack, and the greater the likelihood of an even stronger Israeli kinetic reprisal,” Taleblu said.
“To date, Iran has never fired at Israel directly from its own territory, nor has it ever fired ballistic missiles from its own territory at defended targets,” Taleblu said, noting that Iran could look to launch an attack from its navy or cruise missiles from outside Iranian territory.
“There are challenges aplenty for Iran: A strike that fails or is successfully intercepted will show the Islamic Republic as weak and invite more pressure; a strike that is successful will likely be responded to and beget a cycle of escalation Tehran can ill afford,” Taleblu explained.
“That’s why Khamenei’s most important legacy as supreme leader for over three decades has been avoiding an outright war while keeping his ideological disposition,” Taleblu added. “He now faces the greatest challenge to that today.”
Israeli attacks on Lebanon killed at least five people on Wednesday, including Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, in what was described as a ‘heinous crime’ by the government.
Published On 23 Apr 2026
World
Naomi Watts to Star as Ballerina Margot Fonteyn in Romantic Drama ‘Margot & Rudi,’ With WestEnd Films Selling in Cannes
Naomi Watts is set to star in romantic drama “Margot & Rudi,” which tells the true story of ballet legends Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. The film, to be directed by “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” filmmaker Anthony Fabian, has been boarded by world sales agency WestEnd Films.
The story unfolds when Fonteyn, the greatest ballerina in the West, is 42 and sensing her career is over. Nureyev is 23, a rebellious Soviet defector — magnetic, explosive, unstoppable. Together, they ignite the stage and become icons of the Swinging Sixties. Fonteyn is reborn by Nureyev’s wild energy, but their bond is complicated by her marriage and his affair with another dancer. To preserve what they have, they will risk everything for one defining ballet—because the only place they can truly be together… is on stage.
Watts, who studied dance before becoming an actress, will star as Fonteyn. She broke through with her performance in “Mulholland Drive” and earned Academy Award nominations for her leading roles in “21 Grams” and “The Impossible.”
She next stars in “The Housewife,” as well as Cody Fern’s untitled debut feature film, with Sarah Paulson, Dianne Wiest and Odessa A’Zion.
On television, she received Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations for her performance in “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans,” and recently starred in “Love Story.”
Alexandr Trush, principal dancer with the Hamburg Ballet, will portray Nureyev. A Russian-speaking Ukrainian ballet star, he has headlined major productions including “Giselle” and “Romeo and Juliet.”
The film also stars Academy Award nominee Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” “Saltburn,” “Nuremberg”), Academy Award nominee Demián Bichir (“A Better Life,” “Land,” “The Hateful Eight”) and BAFTA nominee Harriet Walter (“Succession,” “The Crown,” “Sense and Sensibility”), with additional cast to be announced.
The screenplay is written by BAFTA nominee Olivia Hetreed (“Girl With a Pearl Earring,” “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”).
The creative team includes Academy Award nominee hair and makeup designer Karen Hartley Thomas (“Golda,” The Son,” “The Courier”), choreographer Arthur Pita (“Ex Machina,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Sunshine on Leith”), and BAFTA-winning costume designer Fotini Dimou (“The Children Act,” “King Lear”), with additional crew to be announced.
The film, which is set to shoot in October, is produced by Mike Goodridge for Good Chaos (“Triangle of Sadness,” “Ballad of a Small Player,” “Quo Vadis, Aida?”), Anthony Fabian for Elysian Films (“Skin,” “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”), Olivia Hetreed for Sympathetic Ink and Chris Coen (“Funny Games,” “The Childhood of a Leader,” “Shadow Dancer”). Executive producers are Thom Mount, Jeffrey Berg and Andy Paterson.
Fabian said: “Growing up in Mexico City, watching Margot and Rudi’s performances in the cinema sparked my passion for stories that blend music, theater and dance. The film explores the private joy and pain behind their public personas, capturing their unique chemistry. Ballet sequences from the duo’s most iconic roles and performances together drive the story, using movement and cinematic fantasy to reveal the truth behind a couple as famous in their day as The Beatles. Their love, defying barriers of culture, age, class and sexuality, is romantic, unconventional and thrilling — a love story like no other.”
Fabian’s previous film “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” was released worldwide by Focus Features/Universal International Pictures in 2022. It grossed over $30 million at the box office and received BAFTA, Golden Globe and Oscar nominations.
Watts said: “Dance was my first love, and I’ve long dreamed of making a dance film. I feel deeply honored and excited to be playing Margot Fonteyn, one of the greatest dancers of all time. Her relationship with Rudolf Nureyev was extraordinary — both artistically and emotionally — and I’m thrilled to be exploring it with such sensitivity and imagination under the direction of Anthony Fabian.”
Maya Amsellem, managing director of WestEnd Films, said: “’Margot & Rudi’ is a sweeping and beautiful story about two iconic artists who redefine each other at a pivotal moment in their lives. Naomi Watts is set to deliver one of the most transformative performances of her career, combining emotional intensity with the physicality of dance. With Anthony Fabian’s visionary direction and the film’s bold, cinematic use of ballet, this will be a powerful big-screen experience we’re excited to bring to the international market.”
WestEnd will introduce the film to buyers at Cannes Film Festival.
Watts is repped by CAA, Untitled and HJTH. Fabian is repped by Jon Cassir at CAA and Olivia Gray at Independent Talent. He is managed by Ensemble Entertainment.
Ships reportedly attacked in Strait of Hormuz as blockade turns 28 vessels around
Daniel Turner, Power The Future founder and executive director, analyzes the US blockade against Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s strategy to outlast the US economically. He details the impact on oil and gas prices, arguing that markets need confidence to stabilize. Turner critiques current climate policies, stating they’ve made lives expensive and hurt the US economically and militarily.
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Iran reportedly opened fire upon three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre noted that a container ship was fired upon by an IRGC gunboat near Oman Wednesday, causing “heavy damage to the bridge.”
“No fires or environmental impact reported. All Crew reported safe,” the notice said.
Another UKMTO warning said “an outbound cargo ship” west of Iran reported “having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water.” The notice said the crew was safe and accounted for.
“There is no reported damage to the vessel,” it added.
IRAN FIRES ON 2 SHIPS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ AFTER TRUMP EXTENDS CEASEFIRE
Maps4Media processed and enhanced Sentinal-2 satellite imagery shows a broad view of the Strait of Hormuz between southern Iran and Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, including surrounding islands, coastal terrain, and turquoise shallow-water zones at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. (Photo enhanced and published by maps4media via Getty Images)
Iranian media said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was bringing two ships to Iran after seizing them in the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Associated Press.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) Command claimed in an X post that the two vessels, the MSC-FRANCESCA and EPAMINODES, “had endangered maritime security by operating without the necessary permits and tampering with navigation systems.”
It said the vessels “were seized by the IRGC Navy and escorted to Iran’s coast,” according to a translation.
“Disruption of order and safety in the Strait of Hormuz is our red line,” the command wrote.
It also claimed the MSC-FRANCESCA is “linked to the Zionist regime.”
IRAN’S REVOLUTIONARY GUARD SIDELINES PRESIDENT AS MILITARY GRIP EXPANDS
Motorists ride past the Imam Sadiq (AS) mosque with a giant Iranian flag installed on its front at the Palestine Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026. (ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images)
Iranian media also reported that the IRGC attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, according to the AP.
The development comes after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday afternoon that the United States was extending a ceasefire.
“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” the president wrote on Truth Social..
ISRAEL UNVEILS GAME-CHANGING ARTILLERY AGAINST IRAN-BACKED HEZBOLLAH AMID FRAGILE CEASEFIRE
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, April 13, 2026. (Salwan Georges/Bloomberg)
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“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” he added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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